The supply chain of the forest industry has increasingly been adjusted to the customer’s needs for precision and quality. This has changed the operative environment both in the forest and on the roads. As the total removal of timber is increasingly divided into more log assortments, the lot size of each assortment decreases and the time consumed in sorting the logs increases. In this respect, the extra assortments have made harvesting work more difficult and affected the productivity of both cutting and forest transport; this has thus increased the harvesting costs. An activity-based cost (ABC) management system is introduced for timber harvesting and long-distance transport, based on the cut-to-length (CTL) method, in which the logistic costs are assigned to timber assortments and lots. Supplying timber is divided into three main processes: cutting, forest transport, and long-distance transportation. An ABC system was formulated separately for each of these main operations. Costs were traced to individual stands and to timber assortment lots from a stand. The cost object of the system is thus a lot of timber that makes up one assortment that has been cut, forwarded, and transported from the forest to the mill. Application of the ABC principle to timber harvesting and trucking was found to be relatively easy. The method developed gives estimates that are realistic to actual figures paid to contractors. The foremost use for this type of costing method should be as a tool to calculate the efficiency of an individual activity or of the whole logistic system.

Cost efficiency and flexibility have become increasingly important in the logistics of cut-to-length harvesting operations. At the same time, the operating conditions for long-distance transportation have become more demanding and variable. Since the number of log products has increased and the size of harvesting sites has decreased, loads of timber must increasingly be collected from several log decks, increasing the time consumption and costs of the trucking operation. The objectives of this study were to formulate time-consumption models for typical timber transportation activities in Finland and introduce a statistical procedure for examining the variation in time consumption during the trucking phases. The study used a combination of time studies and follow-up studies based on empirical data for 368 loads (a total volume of nearly 18 000 m3) collected from one wood procurement district in central Finland. The model included the following explanatory factors: driving distance, number of log decks, log product and load volume. Since transportation includes several phases and since many factors affect the work performance, significant variation in the total transportation time was observed. This makes planning and cost accounting more difficult. The models developed in this study are a promising initial tool to support route planning and optimization, and cost and profitability calculations for trucking entrepreneurs and the forest industry.

The time consumption and productivity of harvesting are dependent on stand conditions, the operators’ skills, working techniques and the characteristics of the forestry machinery. Even if the basic methods and machine types of the cut-to-length harvesting system have not changed significantly in 10 to 15 years, improvements in the operators’ competence, technical solutions in forest machinery and changes in the working environment have undoubtedly taken place. In this study, the objective was to discover the special characteristics in the time consumption of mechanized cutting and forest haulage in Finnish conditions. The empirical time study was conducted with professional operators and medium-sized single-grip harvesters and forwarders in final fellings and thinnings in easy terrain in central Finland. The models for effective time consumption in the work phases and total productivity were formed. Stem size, tree species and bucking affected the cutting, whereas timber density on the strip road, the average driving distance, load capacity, wood assortment and the bunching result of the harvester operator had an effect on the forest haulage performance. The results may be used in simulations, cost calculations and education.